2018 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition
Expert Point of View: High-Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma
IN SPITE of the high response rates and lack of progression to active disease with the regimens described at the 2018 American Society of Hematology Meeting & Exposition, several myeloma experts i...
Early Studies of Two Regimens Show Benefit in High-Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma
MORE DATA are in to support early intervention for high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma—an early, asymptomatic entity lacking the presence of CRAB criteria (elevated calcium, renal failure, anemia, b...
Expert Point of View: Joseph Mikhael, MD
PRESS BRIEFING moderator Joseph Mikhael, MD, Professor of Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery, Translational Genomics Research Institute, City of Hope Cancer Center in Phoenix, noted that tradi...
New Model May Improve Prediction of Risk in Myelodysplastic Syndromes
A PERSONALIZED risk-prediction model for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) has been developed through the use of a machine-learning approach that analyzes genomic and clinical data for an individual pat...
Tale of Two FLT3 Inhibitors in AML: Gilteritinib and Quizartinib
Data supporting the use of FLT3 inhibitors in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were featured at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition. Gilteritinib was evaluated in combination with i...
Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cell Therapy
As part of The ASCO Post’s continued coverage of the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here is an update on several studies of allogeneic hematopoietic cell ...
Expert Point of View: Kenneth Shain, MD, PhD
KENNETH SHAIN, MD, PhD, Director of the Myeloma Working Group at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, told The ASCO Post that ixazomib is “an effective drug,” but he is not ready to use it as maint...
Maintenance Ixazomib Delays Disease Progression in Newly Diagnosed Myeloma
IN PATIENTS with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who responded well to induction therapy and underwent transplant, 2 years of maintenance therapy with ixazomib led to a 38% improvement in progression...
Expert Point of View: Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH
THE ASCO POST asked Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Division of Bone Marrow Transplant at Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, to comment on studies involving daratumumab. “After ...
ASH Reports Show Benefit of Adding Daratumumab to Initial Therapy in Multiple Myeloma
DARATUMUMAB APPEARS to be the “gift that keeps on giving” to the myeloma community. “It seems we can add daratumumab to almost anything and make the regimen better. It’s got good activity and a good ...
Update on Newer Treatments in Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas
AS PART of The ASCO Post’s continued coverage of the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here is an update on several different studies on new therapeutics in ...
Novel Treatments of Myelodysplastic Syndromes
AS PART of The ASCO Post’s continued coverage of the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here is an update on seven different studies on new therapeutics in myel...
Data Mount for Venetoclax as Add-on Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
The benefit of adding venetoclax to a hypomethylating agent or low-dose cytarabine in the front-line treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was evident from a number of studies reported at the 2018...
Multiple Myeloma Pipeline Filled With CAR T-Cell Therapies
The burgeoning pipeline of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) in multiple myeloma was on full display at the 2018 American Society of Hematolog...
Luspatercept May Reduce the Need for Transfusion in Lower-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes
In the randomized, double-blind, phase III MEDALIST trial, the experimental drug luspatercept significantly reduced the need for frequent red blood cell transfusions in patients with lower-risk myelod...
Expert Point of View: Elihu H. Estey, MD; Steven Gore, MD; and Mark J. Levis, MD, PhD
ELIHU H. ESTEY, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and Director of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Clinical Research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, adde...
Use of Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors in Induction Therapy for Newly Diagnosed AML
IN AN OPEN-LABEL phase I study of 153 patients newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) or IDH2, treatment with standard chemotherapy plus t...
Primary Prophylaxis With a Direct Oral Anticoagulation Agent Reduces Venous Thromboembolism Rate in Ambulatory Patients With Cancer
LATE-BREAKING results from the large, randomized, placebo-controlled CASSINI trial showed that primary prophylaxis with the direct oral anticoagulation agent rivaroxaban reduced the incidence of venou...
Expert Point of View: Joseph Mikhael, MD
JOSEPH MIKHAEL, MD, press conference moderator where these data were discussed, commented on the BEAT AML trial: “One of the greatest challenges in the concept of personalized medicine is that by the...
BEAT AML Umbrella Trial: Bringing Personalized Medicine to Acute Myeloid Leukemia
THE MULTIARM, multicollaborative BEAT AML umbrella trial demonstrated the feasibility of using next-generation sequencing to assign treatment tailored to individual genomics of elderly patients with a...
Novel Therapeutics for Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma, Part 2
Here is an update on several different studies focusing on novel treatments for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annua...
Novel Treatments in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma, Part 1
Here is an update on several different studies focusing on novel treatments for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeti...
Study Findings on Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Including Systemic Mastocytosis
HERE IS AN UPDATE on six different studies featured at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. Topics focused on novel treatments for myelofibrosis, polycythem...
Front-Line Daratumumab Combination Regimen Improves Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma
In patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are not eligible for stem cell transplantation, the addition of daratumumab (Darzalex) to lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone significantly ...
Fixed-Duration Venetoclax Plus Rituximab in Relapsed or Refractory CLL
In patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), fixed-duration venetoclax -(Venclexta) combined with rituximab (Rituxan) reduced the risk of disease progression or death co...
Combining a Checkpoint Inhibitor With CAR T-Cell Therapy May Augment Immune Response
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a revolutionary approach to treating hematologic malignancies. As experience with this strategy is gained, researchers are learning more about how to ...
Early Studies of Ibrutinib Plus CAR T-Cell Combination in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Researchers are combining chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) as a means of augmenting and deepening responses in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lym...
First-Line Ibrutinib With or Without Rituximab vs Rituximab/Bendamustine in Older Patients With CLL
In a phase III trial reported at the recent American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Woyach et al, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and ibrutin...
First-Line Ibrutinib/Rituximab Combination Shows Benefit for Younger Patients With CLL
First-line therapy with the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and rituximab (Rituxan) reduced disease progression by two-thirds compared with standard chemotherapy using fludarabine, cyclophosphami...
ECHELON-2: Brentuximab Vedotin Plus Chemotherapy in CD30-Positive Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma
As reported by Horwitz et al in The Lancet, the phase III ECHELON-2 trial showed that brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (CHP) improved progression-free ...
Alexander B. Pine, MD, PhD, on Practices and Preferences for Anticoagulant Therapy in Treating VTE
Alexander B. Pine, MD, PhD, of Yale School of Medicine, discusses a survey gathering data on health-care providers’ practices and preferences in using direct oral anticoagulant therapy to treat venous...
Expert Point of View: Laurie H. Sehn, MD
LAURIE H. SEHN, MD, Chair, Lymphoma Tumour Group, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, said these results are not unexpected and support de-escalation in selected patients. “The FLY...
De-escalation of Chemotherapy in Favorable-Risk Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
THE REGIMEN of four cycles of rituximab (Rituxan)/cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone (R-CHOP) plus two cycles of rituximab was noninferior to that of six cycles of R-CHOP in younge...
Expert Point of View: Susan M. O’Brien, MD
THE STUDY’S discussant, Susan M. O’Brien, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Science, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Irvine Health, said the results of the Allianc...
Ibrutinib vs Standard of Care in Front-Line Treatment of Older Patients With Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
IBRUTINIB (IMBRUVICA) as a front-line agent proved superior to standard-of-care chemoimmunotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in older patients in A041202, an Alliance-led National Clinica...
ASH 2018: Researchers Identify Mutation in BCL2 Protein That Causes Resistance to Venetoclax in Progressive CLL
Investigators from Australia have identified a genetic mutation that causes resistance to the targeted drug venetoclax (Venclexta) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to res...
ASH 2018: Ibrutinib Plus Rituximab vs Standard Chemoimmunotherapy in Younger Patients With Treatment-Naive CLL
A 6-month course of chemotherapy-based treatment with FCR (intravenous fludarabine and cyclophosphamide plus rituximab [Rituxan]) has historically been the most effective treatment for chronic lymphoc...
Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH, on DLBCL: Trial Results on the Prognostic Significance of MYC
Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH, of the British Columbia Cancer Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, discusses a study by the Lunenburg Lymphoma Biomarker Consortium that confirmed previous reports on the negative pro...
Tait D. Shanafelt, MD, on CLL: Results From a Trial of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group
Tait D. Shanafelt, MD, of Stanford University, discusses phase III study findings on ibrutinib-based therapy vs standard fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab chemoimmunotherapy in untreated yo...
Shaji K. Kumar, MD, on Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma: Treatment Trial Results
Shaji K. Kumar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, discusses phase III findings on daratumumab plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone vs lenalidomide and dexamethasone in people with newly diagnosed multiple myelom...
Alok A. Khorana, MD, on Reducing VTE Associated With Systemic Cancer Therapy: Results From the CASSINI Trial
Alok A. Khorana, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses study findings on rivaroxaban thromboprophylaxis in high-risk ambulatory patients, which showed a reduction in venous thromboembolism and relate...
ASH 2018: MAIA Trial: Does Adding Daratumumab Improve Outcomes in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Ineligible for Stem Cell Transplant?
Interim results from a large international phase III clinical trial show that adding the immunotherapy daratumumab (Darzalex) to standard therapy significantly extended progression-free survival (PFS)...
ASH 2018: CASSINI Trial: Rivaroxaban Thromboprophylaxis for VTE Prevention in Patients With Cancer
A new study suggests taking a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) can reduce the risk of harmful blood clots in patients undergoing cancer treatments, without substantially increasing the risk of bleedin...
ASH 2018: CAR.CD30 T-Cell Therapy in Relapsed or Refractory CD30-Positive Lymphomas
At the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Grover et al presented preliminary results from a clinical study of an investigational cellular immunotherapy for...
ASH 2018: Apixaban for the Treatment of Cancer-Associated VTE
According to findings from the ADAM VTE trial, an oral drug, apixaban (Eliquis), is safe and effective in treating blood clots in patients undergoing cancer therapy. The drug was associated with ...
Paul Richardson, MD, on Multiple Myeloma: Results From the OP-106 Horizon Trial
Paul Richardson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses updated results and the first report on progression-free survival for melflufen therapy administered to people with multiple myeloma tha...
Steven M. Horwitz, MD, on PTCL: Results From the ECHELON-2 Trial
Steven M. Horwitz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses phase III findings on brentuximab vedotin and CHP vs CHOP in the front-line treatment of patients with CD30-positive periphe...
Steven M. Horwitz, MD, on PTCL and CTCL: Trial Results on Cerdulatinib
Steven M. Horwitz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses phase IIa study findings on the novel SYK/JAK inhibitor cerdulatinib for relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma and ...
Anas Younes, MD, on DLBCL: Phase III Trial Results
Anas Younes, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses trial findings on ibrutinib plus rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone in people with previously u...
Saar I. Gill, MD, PhD, on CLL: Trial Results on Anti-CD19 CAR T Cells
Saar I. Gill, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses findings from a prospective clinical trial on the high response rate in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who received a co...
